As medical device technologies continue to evolve, active implanted medical devices have gained increasing popularity in the medical field. For example, one type of implanted medical device includes neurostimulator devices, which are battery-powered or battery-less devices designed to deliver electrical stimulation to a patient. Through proper electrical stimulation, the neurostimulator devices can provide pain relief for patients or restore bodily functions.
Implanted medical devices (for example, a pulse generator) can be controlled using an electronic programming device such as a clinician programmer or a patient programmer. These programmers can be used by medical personnel or the patient to define the particular electrical stimulation therapy to be delivered to a target area of the patient's body, to alter one or more parameters of the electrical stimulation therapy, or otherwise to conduct communications with a patient.
Despite many advances made in the field of neurostimulation, one drawback is that the existing clinician programmers have not been able to provide a sufficiently versatile simulation of the pulse generator. Currently, a user who wishes to test the capabilities of a clinician programmer would have to establish a connection between the clinician programmer and an actual pulse generator. After the connection has been established, the user may use the clinician programmer to communicate with the pulse generator and verify that the communications produced the correct results. However, establishing an actual connection between a clinician programmer and a pulse generator is not always practical, for example in situations where a salesperson for the clinician programmer merely wants to demonstrate the features of the clinician programmer to a target audience. In addition, even if an actual connection between the clinician programmer and the pulse generator could be made, it is still time-consuming to do so, and it would be more convenient to simulate such connection. Unfortunately, existing clinician programmers lack the capability to provide a satisfactory simulation of an actual pulse generator.
Therefore, although existing clinician programmers have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.